Proposal description

In the past, the Public Awareness budget has provided for a number of different needs for the network, including conference materials, public relations, advertising, business development, and international translation services. In late March, that budget was redirected (via a vote) to prioritize the fiat gateways project.

In an official announcement late last week, we requested a down vote of the Public Awareness budget, which is progressing. We foresee no issues getting it removed. Going forward, we plan to introduce separate budgets for each of the major areas Public Awareness previously supported. One of those areas is marketing, which includes all of our international outreach efforts.

This marketing budget proposal will provide continued funding for our language translators. This group translates a massive amount of material on a monthly basis, including relevant news articles, videos (voiceover and subtitles), web pages, and in the near future will be maintaining local wikis and translations of our official webpage. In addition, these individuals post materials to local chat groups and social media. The four main languages covered are Russian, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Translators are compensated with tips based on the volume of material and other outreach they perform for the community. We have been running the program for about a year and it is effective at increasing our international exposure.

In addition, we are beginning to sign sponsorship deals with targeted YouTube channels and website partners for placement and promotion. A small amount of funds are also used for giveaways or promotions, like a spinning wheel on 8BTC.

The requested amount is expected to be an ongoing need to maintain these translation service, international media, and promotion efforts.